{"id":2699,"date":"2020-08-10T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-10T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/teaching\/?p=2699"},"modified":"2020-08-16T12:54:27","modified_gmt":"2020-08-16T17:54:27","slug":"trauma-informed-teaching-amidst-the-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/teaching\/2020\/08\/10\/trauma-informed-teaching-amidst-the-covid-19-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Trauma-Informed Teaching Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Photo depicts vintage, wooden chairs facing forward in an empty lecture hall. It is edited from a CC0 image courtesy of Wokandapix on Pixabay<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Whence We Came<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At some point, we realized that a classroom could be an interactive environment for learning, and that students should be more centered. We could still lay out our learning objectives and share from our content expertise, but the classroom itself would be their place to shine, not ours. Our time and efforts shifted from preparing our lectures to strategizing lesson plans that would engage students in working towards those learning outcomes. In a way, we were drawing the maps but they were driving the cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo of happy people sharing a high-five gesture. Image courtesy of Pexels<\/a>, CC0.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The importance of this student-centered approach to teaching became more apparent with research on trauma and trauma-informed classrooms. We realized that trauma affected students\u2019 brains and their very DNA. We needed to not further traumatize students who were taking our classes, and we needed to remove racial violence from our curriculum, an essential consideration beyond the scope of this piece but hopefully something you are already mindful of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, avoid teaching about race differences through a deficits-only model that makes students of color experience trauma so that white students can experience learning. One common case of this in the classroom is the so-called \u201cprivilege walk\u201d exercise, which typically leaves students physically sorted, with those who have darker complexion literally at the back of the room when you are done. That exercise is likely traumatic to Black students and other students of color, who already know they will end up in the back, and do not appreciate their bodies being used to model that disadvantage yet again so that white students can learn something that day which they have lived their whole lives. There are other class exercises, beyond the scope of this article, that should be revised and reviewed. The bottom line on this? We must remove racial violence from the curriculum and minimize the extent to which we further traumatize our students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trauma-informed teaching places relationships at the center of our job as educators. There are several frameworks and sets of principles on how to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n